


Fabricated Images

by Crashthefandoms



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Caulscott - Freeform, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2018-04-30 15:39:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5169224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crashthefandoms/pseuds/Crashthefandoms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Victoria finally manages to convince Nathan to join her Photography class, much to his annoyance.</p><p>Mr. Jefferson assigns a project requiring partners for the week</p><p>Max rolled her eyes<br/>Nathan cursed under his breath</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Partners

It was easy enough to get his schedule changed, his family did own this school and everyone else in this shitty town after all. Nathan sat in the chair in front of Principal Wells's desk, his head resting on the palm of his hand. Bored. Disinterested.

"Are you almost done?" The boy said in annoyance. It's just a few clicks on the computer, right? What was taking this drunk bastard so long?

"You're all set, Nathan." Wells stood up from his chair. Nathan was always pissed off about Wells' chair. That sounds a bit petty, doesn't it? But Nathan was infuriated every time he walked in that dust-riddled office. The chair, it looked so.. _royal_. But in reality it was just a cheap cover-up, wasn't it? Hell, wasn't everything in this school just covered up with falsities?

"Nathan?" Wells spoke up louder, catching Nathan a bit off guard disrupting his thoughts. "Your new class begins this period, I suggest you go and get acquainted with your teacher and classmates.

Nathan stood up and regarded Principal Wells with a small scowl before departing his office. _I'm well acquainted with the teacher already_. The little snappy comment appeared in his mind when he exited out into the hallway filled with other kids going to their next class. Well, there was no delaying the inevitable. Of course he'd already been taking Photography, but it was in a later period. He'd much rather be in a class filled with kids he didn't care much for, people who didn't know him. But of course, everyone at Blackwell Academy had Nathan Prescott all figured out. Didn't they?

Mr. Jefferson's room was in sight now, his footsteps bringing him closer to his new class. Why did he keep referring to it as "new"? Nothing was different except for new classmates. It was still the same concepts, the same lessons, the same teacher. _As long as Mr. Jefferson is the teacher, then that's all that matters._ A small smile tugged at the corners of Nathan's lips when he saw Mr. Jefferson outside the doorway to his classroom.

'Nathan, I'm glad you switched classes to be with some friends." Mr. Jefferson smiled and beckoned for Nathan to enter the room. "I know you have an impeccable taste in photography, don't be afraid to show it."

Nathan's eyes scanned the classroom, it wasn't that many kids, though that was common in the Photography classes. He spotted his friend Victoria waving at him from a table. The other kids mostly kept to themselves, checking their cameras, tapping their pencils on the table waiting for class to start. But there was one person who caught Nathan's eye almost immediately.

"Victoria, you didn't tell me _she_ was in this class." Nathan growled, his hand curling into a fist as he sat down next to Victoria.

"Who?" Victoria turned around in her seat in the direction Nathan was glaring, and saw only one person.

_Max Caulfield._

"Oh, _her?_ Relax, all she does is take dumbass selfies and butchers answers to questions. She doesn't talk much." She smirked, looking back at Nathan and resting a soft hand on his clenched fist upon the tabletop. "You won't even notice her."

The anger inside Nathan refused to allow himself to be calmed down by Victoria, which led to his fist pulling away almost instantly when Victoria laid a reassuring hand on him. "You better be fucking right." He muttered, glancing once more at Max. Ever since that girl snitched on him about pulling a gun in the girls' bathroom, Nathan had grown to despise her. She had no idea... None of them fucking did. Constant accusations all only fueled the persona everyone built up for him.

Max glanced up from her journal and briefly shared eye contact, her eyes widening ever so slightly at the sight of Nathan in her class. The stare-down was quick, only a second or so, before Max looked down again at her journal.

 _That's right._ Nathan grinned to himself. _Be scared, Caulfield._

Everyone in the class looked up and sat up straighter when Mr. Jefferson entered the classroom and cleared his throat. "Good morning! It's a beautiful day outside, isn't it?" A few kids glanced at the windows, the sunlight hitting the leaves on the grassy ground. The golden-brown colors radiating a certain glow of fall. "Which is why this is an opportune time to get you kids started early on your new project!"

Victoria sat up straighter, her hands dusting off her skirt, a small smirk playing on her lips. Nathan had to admire the determination Victoria had to be the best in Mr. Jefferson's class.

"You'll be working with a partner of _my_ choosing for this project." Mr. Jefferson continued, looking around the room. "The project is to capture a picture in Arcadia Bay, just one, but in a way that combines both partners' styles." He looked in Nathan's direction, and Nathan could've sworn he saw a small grin. "Now, let's start by pairing you all up, and then you can leave class early to discuss ideas and explore your styles."

Nathan drowned out Mr. Jefferson, knowing he was just pairing up other kids he didn't give a shit about. He knew he had nothing to worry about, Mr. Jefferson knew him after all. Nathan looked at Victoria and they both shared a small smile. _I'll be paired up with Vic,_ he knows she's my best friend here. Nathan thought reassuringly.

"Victoria Chase-"

Victoria smiled even more, glancing from Mr. Jefferson to Nathan, of whom also shared her smile as he stared at Mr. Jefferson.

"-And Kate Marsh."

"What..?" Victoria whispered, jaw slacking. "M-Mr. Jefferson, are you sure? Wouldn't Nathan and I make a much better pair? We do know each others' styles after all!" She was standing up by this point, desperate not to be paired up with Kate Marsh.

"Victoria, the whole point of this project is for us all to explore new styles we aren't yet familiar with." Mr. Jefferson crossed his arms, his eyes shooting Victoria down, causing her to reluctantly sit back in her chair. "So it would be unfair for you to work with Nathan, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, Mr. Jefferson.." Victoria mumbled crossing her arms, glaring across the room at Kate. Kate, throughout this little outburst of Victoria's, had her head buried in her arms trying not to see Victoria. She knew she was being glared at, and she _hated_ it.

"Now as for Nathan, you'll be paired up with Max." Mr. Jefferson smiled, walking around the room. "And that concludes my job, now it's time for you to do yours. Get out there and get some pictures!"

Max rolled her eyes.

Nathan cursed under his breath.

Everyone got up from their seats to go to their new partners to discuss ideas and for some, introduce themselves. Victoria was slow to stand up from her seat, glancing at Nathan before she walked away.

"I'll text you tonight, don't worry, we''ll get through this somehow." She whispered with a forced smile. Honestly, she had no idea how they'd get through this. Victoria took her sweet time walking across the room to the table where Kate sat.

Nathan hesitated before standing up from his seat and making his way to where Max sat. She was taking her time, packing her things into her bag.

"I don't want to do this either." Max blurted out nonchalantly, standing up in front of Nathan. She was only an inch or two shorter than Nathan, so she bravely glared right on back at him. "But we have to. So, let's just get this over with." And with that, Max walked past Nathan without another word, exiting the classroom and into the hallway.

There was something about Max, she was usually so quiet and reserved, he never expected that kind of reaction. He expected himself to exhibit that attitude, not her. This surprise was enough to get him curious and follow her out the classroom. He wove through the other students mingling in the halls, making sure to keep his eyes locked on Max. "Max!" He held her arm once he caught up with her.

"Get your hand off me, _psycho_." Max emphasized the same word that punk blue-haired girl used in the bathroom. She yanked her arm away from his grasp, crossing her arms over her chest in a defensive stance. "What?"

"I don't like you, and you don't like me either." Nathan stated blandly. "So, let's just get started on this project now. That way the sooner we finish, the sooner I don't have to see your face."

"Fine." Max sighed looking down at the floor, then back up at Nathan. "I'd tell you my style, but everyone knows I just take selfies pretty much."

 _Fuck your selfies_. Nathan recalled Victoria saying that countless times when around Max or talking about her. He'd never actually seen any of Max's photos, he just went along with what Victoria told him.

"I don't know how to exactly describe my style." Nathan admitted, though he did remember Mr. Jefferson hailing his photos. That night was a blur, really, after the overdose he couldn't remember much. After dragging Rachel Amber's dead body, he didn't want to remember anything from that night.

"Nathan, are you okay..?" Max frowned, her eyebrows scrunching up in concern, seeing the pale stricken-look on Nathan's face.

"I'm fine! Quit getting up in my business!" Nathan snapped, his eyes quickly turning wide in fury.

Max took a step back from Nathan and readjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder. "Sorry.." She didn't know what the hell was Nathan's problem, but she wasn't about to push him. "I-I have to go to my next class, but here's my number so we can keep in touch during this project." She ripped a piece of paper out of her journal and hastily wrote down her number before handing it to Nathan. "After classes, we should meet up and see where we should go to take some pictures. Does.. that sound good?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Nathan grumbled, snatching the paper from Max's hands. Max regarded him with confusion, on one hand she felt afraid and almost pitiful for him, on the other she remembered what he did to Chloe before she rewound time. Max turned on her heels and walked down the hall towards her next class.

And Nathan Prescott was left standing alone in the now deserted hallway, with Max's number crumpled up in his fist.

This was going to be _fucking hell._


	2. Smoke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max takes Nathan to seemingly the perfect place to experiment with their photography styles
> 
> But a certain someone with blue hair has a huge fucking problem with it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news! I'm finally continuing this fic after several months of absolutely nothing. Whoops. Sorry.

_"Nathan, you're doing a good job.." The man in the glasses smiled down at the boy, eliciting a smile from the boy's own lips._

_"T-This isn't as bad as I thought it would be, Mr. Jefferson." Nathan's smile remained as he pushed the syringe even more. "She's beautiful."_

_"She'll be the centerpiece of my work, and all thanks to your help. I'm proud of you."_

_Proud. He was.. proud? No one had ever spoken those words to him before, especially not his father._

_nathan..._

_nathan.._

_" **NATHAN!"**_ _Mr. Jefferson slapped Nathan hard across the cheek, sending him sprawling on the ground. "You overdosed her!"_

_"I-I...no.. I-I didn't.." But as Nathan watched Mr. Jefferson check Rachel Amber's pulse, he knew he was right. "I-I'm so sorry.."_

_"You **fucked** up! You're **useless!** " Mr. Jefferson stood up, his face full of fury and rage. He looked as if he was going to murder Nathan right then and there. But in a blink of an eye, his expression softened. "It's no use getting upset about it now. I can always find another subject." The teacher sighed, removing his glasses and rubbing the ridge of his nose. "Hide her body."_

_Nathan, wanting to get back into Mr. Jefferson's good graces, obediently did as he was told without a single word. He grab hold of the girl's waist and hoisted her over his shoulder. He didn't dare look back behind him as he exited the Dark Room. He stood outside the barn, staring into the pitch black of the night.  
_

_"Fuck, this can't be happening!" Nathan muttered, tossing Rachel's corpse into the back of his car before getting into the driver's seat. "Okay, Nathan, what's a good place to hide a dead body? Come on, think! Think!" His hand slammed the wheel in frustration, driving down the barren roads. He drove by the junkyard and his eyes lit up. "Junkyard! No one really goes there, right? Right."_

_The steering wheel was pulled with all the boy's might, headed back towards the direction of the junkyard._

_It was eerily silent, except for the squish sounds of Rachel's body being dragged through the mud and Nathan's grunting as he dug a spot with a spare shovel._

_Her emotionless face stared back up at him from her new grave, almost as if she was taunting him._

_"Stop looking at me, dumb bitch!" Nathan spat angrily, hastily shoveling the dirt over her body._

_"You can't hide the truth, Nathan." A familiar voice emanated from below him. "You're a fucking murderer." Rachel's eyes shot open, this time she really was staring at him tauntingly. "You're a **failure**. All you do is **hurt** people."_

_" **SHUT UP!"** Nathan covered his ears squeezing his eyes shut. "Please... go away... please.." He whimpered through clenched teeth. _

_"You should be in here instead of me, Nathan Prescott."_

_Nathan opened his eyes and found himself staring upwards at Rachel standing over him. "No... no please! Rachel please, I-I didn't mean to kill you! I never wanted to hurt anyone!"_

_"A bit too late for that." Rachel picked up the shovel and started shoveling dirt on top of Nathan's live body. She looked down at him, her face devoid of emotion as she watched him squirm and choke._

* * *

_Ring_

_Ring_

_Ring_

Nathan's eyes shot open, sitting up on his bed breathing heavily. His heart was racing at a hundred miles per hour. Panicking, he ran his fingers through his hair and clothes, going to the nearest trash can in his room and throwing up. He could feel the dirt filling up his lungs, it all felt so fucking real. But it was just a dream, that's all it was. Reality was here and now, and right now his cell phone was ringing. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and answered his phone.

"Hey Nathan, how's your project going along?" Victoria's voice asked.

"Project..?"

_You should be in here instead of me, Nathan Prescott._

"Yes, project. The photography assignment?"

"Uh.." Nathan paused to think, but he couldn't shake off the image of Rachel Amber's taunting glare.

"The partners thing? The one you're with Max 'Selfie Whore' Caulfield? Hello?? Earth to Nathan?"

"O-Oh, yeah, right. Sorry I just woke up." Nathan sighed, then it hit him like a freight train. Max Caulfield. "Shit! I was suppose to call her! I gotta go, Vic."

"Nathan, wait-!" But Nathan had already hung up and was about to dial Max's number when he realized something.

"Where's that slip of paper?!" He glanced at his nightstand and saw the crumpled piece of paper resting there. His finger dialed in the number scrawled on the page before finally pressing call.

The wait was agonizing, he was even tempted to end the call before she could answer or it went to voice-mail. But the troubled boy didn't do that, and a soft voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Uh.. Hey Caulfield, it's Nathan." He cleared his throat, standing up from his bed.

"Oh, hey Nathan. I thought you wouldn't call."

"Well, I couldn't let my partner down, now could I?" Nathan chuckled, trying to lighten the mood between him.

"Yeah.. I guess."

Stupid, Nathan, just stupid! Why did he even try to joke with the girl? They weren't close, and they sure as hell weren't friends.

"I actually had a good idea of a place we could go to experiment with our styles, is the junkyard okay?" Max inquired, the hesitation of trusting Nathan Prescott near her evident in her voice.

"The junkyard? Yeah, I'll meet you there." Nathan was about to hang up, but Max's voice stopped him.

"Wait, I need a ride. Could you pick me up?"

"Um, sure. I'll pick you up..?"

"At the parking lot." Max replied, curtly.

"The parking lot, right.." Nathan hung up and grabbed his camera before heading out the door and exiting the boys' dormitories.

The rich boy walked across the campus of Blackwell Academy until he reached the parking lot. There were only a dozen or so cars parked, but no one was around. No one except for the egocentric rich boy and the shy photographer who ratted him out, of whom was standing by his car. Nathan approached the brunette and got in the driver's seat without a word, waiting for Max to get in the passenger seat. Once they were both settled in, Nathan turned the ignition on and drove off the campus towards the junkyard.

"Thanks.." Max blurted out.

"For what?" The nonchalance was obvious in his tone.

"For giving me a ride."

"Well, like I said, the sooner we finish the sooner I don't have to see your face." Nathan pulled into the desolate junkyard and parked.

Both he and Max exited the car with cameras in their hands. Max immediately analyzed the scenery with her eyes, highlighting and discarding the potential subjects in her mind's eye. Nathan, on the other hand, couldn't stop staring at one spot in particular. A patch of dirt right beside a tall heap of trash and rusted metal.

"Nathan?" Max's voice brought Nathan back to reality. "Did you see a spot you liked over there?" Max's head shifted towards the direction Nathan's eyes were. There was a large pile of trash and crap, and a few blades of grass and some dirt. Nothing really special to her, but this project was about combining different styles. So maybe Nathan saw something she couldn't.

Nathan did see something Max couldn't, that was true, but it had nothing to do with the project. Unless the project involved Rachel Amber's lifeless body. "No, nothing good over there. Just zoned out." Nathan walked on ahead of Max, adjusting his camera. "I'm assuming you saw a good place?"

"Yeah, there's an old rusty car on top of a small pile of trash, it might be worth getting some angles. If not, there is the woods and the train tracks."

Nathan lined up his shot on the antiquated car before taking the picture. The Polaroid slid out his camera, revealing a black and white picture of the car. The way the sunlight hit the rust, in his picture it almost looked like smoke wrapped itself around the vehicle.

"Wow, Nathan, that's amazing.." Max glanced over standing next to him at the photo he just took. "You prefer black and white?"

"I-uh.." Nathan was caught off-guard by her compliment, but he quickly recovered. "Yeah, I feel like black and white shows the true colors of the world."

"How so?" Max tilted her head inquisitively.

"Colors just get in the way, they distract you from the true subject, what's at the very core. Colors are just things our brain make up, for all we know the world could actually be in black and white." Nathan shrugged. "I don't know, black and white just simplifies things, reveals more."

Max nodded in understanding. "I think I understand what you mean. That's an interesting perspective on it. I never would've thought of it that way."

Nathan and Max both were so distracted by his photo and Nathan's perspective on photography, that neither of them noticed the actual smoke wrapping itself around the car and the girl approaching them. Chloe Price was livid, taking a drag from her cigarette before tossing it onto the ground and marching right up to Nathan Prescott.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing here?!" She shoved Nathan back, fury in her eyes.

"Chloe! Stop!" Max grabbed her best friend's arm and pulled her back.

"He was going to fucking _shoot_ me, Max! You know that, after all you did see him ki-"

"Chloe, leave him the fuck alone! At least for a few days!" Chloe wrestled against Max's restraint at first, but then she finally gave in and stepped back from Nathan.

"What the fuck is this, Max?" Chloe asked, still glaring at Nathan, who was propped up on his elbows on the ground.

"We're paired up on a photography project, don't worry." Max's voice softened, trying her best to calm Chloe down.

"Yeah, trust me," Nathan grumbled, standing up. "I don't want to do this with her either. So fuck off, punk-ass." Nathan spat coldly in Chloe's direction.

"You fucking prick!" Chloe broke free of Max's hold quicker than she could react, and she punched Nathan square on the jaw, leaving a red mark.

 **"Both of you fucking stop!"** Max got in-between the two of them and held them both off. "Chloe, please.."

"No, y'know what, I'm done wasting my time. I thought you of all people wouldn't keep secrets from me, but I guess I was fucking wrong." Chloe glared at the both of them and spun around on her heels.

"Chloe! It isn't that big of a deal, you're overreacting!" As soon as those words left her mouth, Max knew she'd regret it.

 _"Overreacting..? You think I'm fucking overreacting?! This fucking psycho pulled a gun on me, Max!"_ Chloe turned around and regarded Max in both bewilderment and rage. "And you have the fucking balls to bring this fucker to not just our place, but mine and Rachel's too?! That's fucking sick, Max!"

"I didn't mean to, I panicked and I fucked up, okay?" Nathan exclaimed apologetically.

"Go fuck yourself, Prescott." Chloe spat with venom before looking at Max. "And y'know what, if you two want to fuck each other, then go right on ahead! You're fucking perfect for each other!" Chloe walked off, leaving Max speechless.

Nathan watched as the blue-haired girl walked towards her beat-up truck and drive away from the junkyard.

"I-I'm sorry, she shouldn't have punched you." Max finally muttered after what felt like several minutes of dead silence. "How bad is it?" She looked at Nathan's jaw and lifted her hand to touch it, but Nathan grabbed her wrist a bit too quick and tight.

"It's fine, I deserved it." He noticed the wince in Max's eyes and instantly released his grip. "Sorry.."

"No, it's okay, you're tense, I understand." Max gingerly graced her fingers on his jaw. "Does that hurt?"

"No. I said it's fine." Nathan pulled his head away from her touch, and Max nodded and put her arm down. "We should take some more pictures, I still haven't seen any of yours yet."

"All I specialize in is self-portraits, there isn't much to say really." Max replied passively, looking down at her camera.

"Give me something to talk about, then at least. Why don't we take a selfie together?"

"Um.. yeah, sure, that's a good idea." Max held up her camera and snapped the photo. The Polaroid slid out and she shook it to reveal the image.

Max was smiling.

Nathan wasn't.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been shipping Caulscott and loving Nathan more and more the past few days and so I had to write a fic for them! For now it'll just be one chapter, but depending on whether people like it or not, I'll continue the story!


End file.
